49ers currently rank 30th in the NFL in cap space

The Niners are sitting at $1.48 million

If you’re wondering why the 49ers haven’t been as active as other teams during free agency, their lack of salary cap space is the answer. ESPN’s Field Yates tweeted each team’s available cap space as of today, and the 49ers ranked 30th:

The Panthers have enough room to trade for a veteran quarterback if they don’t believe Kenny Pickett, Malik Willis, or Desmond Ridder can contribute in Year 1. That’s the good news if you’re hopeful that Carolina has any interest in 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.

If San Francisco does move Garoppolo this offseason, they will shoot to the top-5, at worst, in cap space in the NFL.

As general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan noted earlier this week, the team plans to be patient as far as holding onto Garoppolo, and he’s unlikely to be moved until he can pass a physical — something that isn’t expected to happen until the middle of June, at the earliest.

The 49ers will need to clear some cap space to sign their draft class over the next month. With 11 picks, they could trade up and realistically only need about $9-$10 million.

2nd

3rd

3rd comp (Robert Saleh)

3rd comp (Mike McDaniel)

4th (own)

5th (own)

5th comp (DJ Jones)

6th comp (Arden Key)

7th comp (Raheem Mostert)

7th comp (K’Waun Williams)

7th (via DEN)

Still, they’ll have to re-work contracts such as Jimmie Ward, Fred Warner, or Trent Williams. And that’s before this summer when the inevitable extensions for Nick Bosa and Deebo Samuel happen.